Tabitha Draws: A Year of Walter Trier

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

A Year of Walter Trier

Exactly one year ago I set out to find myself a creative mentor who possessed the artistic qualities I wished for in myself. Someone with an ability to transcend the boundaries between commercial and traditional art-making. A magnificent storyteller and a killer draftsman.

On a Wednesday afternoon I walked into the AGO's Print and Drawing Study Centre not knowing what to expect. It had been years since I was last there, probably with art school or something, and I barely remembered its location. At the door I was greeted by the friendliest set of volunteers who led me on a tour of the facilities and explained how the space functions.

The Study Centre is the only place at the AGO where people can view original works on paper directly from the vault and without a frame. As in, the only thing standing between you and that priceless Dürer etching is your own anxious breath. Crazy, no? It's pretty clear how amazing this sort of access can be to a visiting artist such as myself. And the best part? They let you draw!

First I had to describe what I wanted to see. With no previous knowledge of the collection I explained that I was a cartoonist in search of "loose gestural drawings", for lack of a better phrase. That's when I was introduced to Walter Trier.

The Toy Shop by Walter Trier

The number of works in the Trier collection is staggering. As a German fleeing Europe in World War Two, Trier brought not only his family but over 1100 drawings and paintings to his new home in Toronto. I had never heard of him before this encounter at the Study Centre, though he is best known across Europe for children's illustration, caricature and political satire. After his death the family donated all of his artwork to the AGO where, by some stroke of luck, we crossed paths.

Each week, for exactly one year, I have spent the afternoon with Walter Trier. Through a strange obsessive compulsion I plan to continue these drawings until I've exhausted the collection. I feel like I owe it to him! At the gallery I'm known as "The Trier Girl", and here is a sample of what he and I have been up to.